For silver halide color photographic materials, a system of using light-sensitive silver halide emulsions and so-called dye-forming couplers (hereinafter simply referred to as couplers), which form dyes by reaction with the oxidation product of an aromatic primary amine developing agent, is frequently used. A combination of a yellow coupler, a cyan coupler, and a magenta coupler is usually used for color photographic materials.
More particularly, 5-pyrazolone couplers are frequently used as magenta couplers for color photographic materials, but 5-pyrazolone couplers have a side absorption at about 430 nm and show an undesirable end form in the characteristic curve at the long wavelength side, which causes serious problems in color reproduction.
1H-Pyrazolo[5,1-c][1,2,4]triazole couplers are known as magenta couplers for overcoming such difficulties, and it is known that the magenta dye obtained by the coupling reaction of the coupler of the skeleton and the oxidation product of an aromatic primary amine developing agent does not have a side absorption at about 430 nm in an ethyl acetate solution and shows a magenta color showing a desirable end form of the characteristic curve at the long wavelength side and having high purity. However, in a photographic film or photographic paper obtained by exposing and color developing a photographic material having silver halide emulsion layers containing the 1H-pyrazolo[5,1-c][1,2,4]triazole couplers dispersed therein using a high-boiling point organic solvent, the transmission or reflection spectra do not always show a good end form of the characteristic curves at the long wavelength side, the improvement of color reproducibility is insufficient, and also the light fastness of color images formed is insufficient.